Zoo lights at night is pretty fun. Definitely a kid friendly and kid fun event. The Christmas lights are great, I just wish they had incorporated more lights or fixtures about animals. Otherwise its a good time. The tickets were a little higher than I thought they should have been but you are supporting the zoo, so that helps.

The Houston zoo is really making exceptional changes to their looks. They are certainly adding plenty of space and places to see the beautiful mix of mammals, reptiles, avian, insect, and aquatic animals. It is so awesome. Not too terribly priced. This is a large zoo. It’s beautiful and each area has plenty to look at and be in awe of. I would recommend a membership. You will get your money’s worth out of getting it. Food and drink are not reasonable. Would recommend you having a picnic if you decide to go and save some money. Other than that they have really done a good job on their safety measures due to Covid. Plenty of hand sanitizer everywhere, soap in bathrooms, and masks are available on site should you forget yours. Would also recommend making reservations in order to get into the zoo quickly.

This was a great outdoor day! Great place to see the animals this time of year. Zoo Boo was in full swing. Lots of pumpkins and costumes. The new renovations are great . Was disappointed in the alligator exhibit. The old one was better and bigger. Everything else was great! Recommend taking your own snacks and drinks. Get your tickets online and enjoy what Houston has to offer

Awesome place to visit and spend time. Awesome collection of fauna. Points for everyone take a whole day and good amount of snacks.Go early because parking will become an issue after early hours.

It was a perfect day for the zoo! Loved seeing the Jaguar, the eagles nest, and the rest of the animals. The food at the Cafe was very reasonably priced. We went in the morning so we didnt see the zoo lights, but all.of the structures looked amazing!

Great place to social distance. Very convenient you can bring in your own food and drinks. Their food prices are a little high but the quality had gone up from previous years. The kids zoo area is really nice for them to run around and explore.

Good outing for the kiddos. Masks are required but visitors were respectful of social distancing and the zoo staff did a good job of keeping areas clean and having sanitizing stations. The only down side are the animal exhibits that have glass and are outdoors, of course ALL the kids touch that and I didnt see anyone wiping those. But I cant fault the Houston Zoo for that. I just didnt allow my daughter to touch it or sanitized her hands right after if she did.

This is such an awesome zoo!! Houston is lucky to have the most adorable red pandas at this zoo. If you get a chance stop by and see these adorable creatures. If I am not mistaken not many zoos are fortunate enough to have these endangered species.

I always loved the zoo! And now with the new Pantanal section I am absolutely in love!! Their are so many nooks to comfortably nurse my baby and my 5 year old loves it! Its fresh and airy. The food at the circle Court is amazing, and its newly renovated, very clean.

Very accompanying staff and facility. We LOVED it! The zoo wasnt packed, but mildly busy. It was nice. Some things were closed off, but we go to view several exhibits and indoor things like the bugs and reptiles. Im very happy with the staff. This has been probably my favorite my most favorite visit ever. They were patient and fun!

Truly an amazing zoo!! Everything is so well kept. Super clean grounds. The animals are so loved by the staff. There are educational/informational plaques all the exhibits. Well laid out space. Plenty of seating if you need a break. Excellent place to learn and get exercise. Go enjoy and your ticket price will help care fir/feed the residents!!

What else can I even say? BEST ZOO EVER!!! And thats coming from someone whos been to those major zoos in New York City. Every animal you can imagine (except armadillos, ironically enough, but that mightve just been the time I was there) and either way it still such a fun experience, cant gush about it enough!

UPDATE: I increased the stars because I went back to the zoo during the week and they did help me because of the past problem. I was able to take my uncle and there was less people. But please aware of overbooked weekend reservations and lack of parking.Bought tickets online for a reservation between 1-2pm on Sunday, went to the zoo at 1pm and ALL THREE parking lots were jam packed, with cars backing up in traffic, people parking on grass and other non-parking areas. I drove around for one hour trying to find a parking space. I was unsuccessful and had to turn back home. I called the zoo and told them that they over sold the tickets and there is NO parking at all. They would not refund my money. Instead, they just gave me an email to write them about a refund, in which they do not respond. I had to call my credit card company to dispute the charge. Forcing people to make a reservation and pay for nonrefundable tickets online and overselling to where you can not park and enter the zoo at the specified time, then not refunding your tickets is unacceptable. They should know their parking lot capacity and if you are not going to regulate the amount of people going in during a pandemic then dont force people to buy online! What is the point of making a reservation????

Amazing to visit, even with Covid-19 happening. You have to purchase tickets online but, they are practicing social distancing and have assigned a pathway for you to go throughout the zoo but you still get to see almost everything. Be prepared, not much food places are open but bring a cooler and your good to go. It took me and my husband 3 hrs. to walk the whole zoo at a casual pace and still stop to look at the animals and had lunch at the tables at the cafe, which we brought in our cooler. Loved it!!!

Tons of exhibits with a good variety of animals. I went mainly for the bear exhibit and had a great time baking in the sun and hearing the endless horde of children with their parents. Just kidding. Come here on a weekday if you want to avoid as much of that. Would definitely come back if not just to support the wildlife.

Im a member of the Houston Zoo and absolutely love it! Currently you need to schedule reservations online before you go to schedule your time of arrival. Its still quite busy but I always have a wonderful time there. Its very large and has many exhibits that I love

An excellent nonprofit with state of the art animal care and a clear mission to educate the public and provide funding for conservation efforts both locally and world wide! AZA accredited and participants in many SSPs! I have personally seen the level of care provided by the keepers in multiple sections of the zoo and I can guarantee that these zookeepers are some of the hardest working people on this planet! Parking is so-so, it is best to try getting there early on a weekday. If you come in the afternoon, go to the front parking since its more likely that someone will be leave from those parking spots. This technique works for zoo lights as well!

This zoo is absolutely beautiful! Everything seems so green and lush!! Plenty of shade trees to keep cool under during the Texas heat.Dont let Covid keep you away! Hand sanitizer machines around every turn and the zoo is SPOTLESS! I have been visiting for the last 20 years, since my kids were little. I have enjoyed seeing all the growth and changes the zoo has gone through during the years. Honestly, I feel it just keeps getting better and better! Im so looking forward to the new additions they have planned!! The Gorilla Habitat, Elephant Enclosures and Bug House are my favorites!

Very nice and well laid out! We had a great time. The only reason I didnt give 5 stars was because of the cluster and chaos it was to exit (due to covid protocols)

We appreciated the social distancing protocols. The opportunity to get very close to the animals, while seeing the efforts to keep them safe, was a highlight. Well maintained facility and the staff was very helpful.

We went here in the evening to see the Christmas Light Displays. It was very well done. Beautiful and worth my time. Puts one in the holiday spirit.

We went to the Zoo Lights and it was amazing! Great displays, soundtrack, and crowd control. Food was a little pricey but otherwise we had a great time. Eat before you go!

Clean and welcoming, as always! Love our time at the zoo! While there were some adjustments made because of this current pandemic, it didnt really take away from the experience. We didnt get to stay as long as wed have liked too, but we got to see the animals we wanted too. As zoo members, well definitely be going back.

We went on a random Thursday 2 hours before closing time. I believe we had more than enough time to walk all around and south Americas pantanal. (I highly recommend) Im not sure how long they will have that exhibit but the information was neat and the Panthers were awesome!! **PURCHASE TICKETS ONLINE BEFORE ARRIVAL** because of covid they had people scan their tickets from their phone but didnt have purchase options there. Also the restrooms and the park was very clean and well maintained.

The best zoo Ive been to. the animals enclosures are big and filled with natural activities for them. for example, the giant otters have a river-like water slide and a pool of water. it was so fun watching them happily swimming around and eating fish.

The animals were visible due to the perfect weather. Went around 10:30 am on a late November morning during Thanksgiving break, which was perfect since the animals had not eaten yet and temperature was in the high 60s to low 70s (degree Fahrenheit)! We saw red pandas, lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards, giraffes, elephants and so many more!! We even fed a giraffe!!

Love this zoo. And the updates they have done are really nice. But they have A LOT ripped up. They always seem to be doing construction.The latest construction has been them taking out all the birds, bird house and the aquarium. My kids and I are really disappointed about losing the aquarium. They had just done some really neat updates to the big middle tank in there.

Really great zoo. Its under construction right now, and still was amazing. I will definitely have to go back after they are done. All the exhibits were really clean and the animals looked well taken care off. Food was a little expensive but thats the same at all zoos. They had a special dragon experience when we were there. It was really cool, life size Robot dragons. In all great zoo, my 5 year old daughter had a great time. We will be back.

I had a great experience overall. A lot of the animals were closed off due to covid, which was a bit disappointing but understandable.

Small kids love this zoo. It’s small and has major popular animals. But it could be better. Even comparing inside the TX, Dallas has a better zoo with a petting area and more medium to large sized animals. Besides, this zoo needs a better navigation sign system. Their signs won’t tell me where I’m at but only contribute confusions.

Had an absolutely amazing time at the zoo! Got to see some really cool animals (lions and tigers and elephants oh my). This is great for families as well as for date night (or day). I think its great that you can bring a cooler and have a picnic inside!!!

Houston Zoo was amazing. My family & I enjoyed ourselves but however due the pandemic we didn’t get to see everything. Still loved it either way. We came from Dallas & we would definitely come again.

Honestly, it’s not that great of a zoo. Took about an hour to tour 90% of the exhibits because there’s just not much to see and nothing impressive enough that’ll have you stay and admire. With the pandemic and social distancing the long lines will probably curb your appetite for this zoo even more. Worth a visit? Sure. Worth a second look? Probably not.

Been over a year since I last went. Loved it then. still love it today. They made some nice upgrades it the viewing areas.

Really enjoyed the zoo and their commitment to Covid safe visits. But even with the reduced number of people and the timed entry there was still an uncomfortable amount of people. The park only requires age 10 and up to wear a mask.

Great light display! A lot of fun for the whole family. A little pricey... The light show is after dark, and the animals are not on display.

I hadnt been to the zoo since I was a kid. I was so impressed by how clean and beautiful everything was! The employees were friendly, a few greeted me and asked if I needed help finding anything. I had such a good time and cant wait to go back again!

We had a great day at the zoo, even with Covid-19 restrictions in place. Will definitely be going back soon.

I loved it. They close early at 4 which is not fun.I wish they stayed open till 5 .

PROBABLY GOING TO GET CORONA VIRUS HERE. There is no personal space. The zoo is 100% capacity if not more. This place is so crowded I didnt even enjoy it. We even went early with 3 kids. The exhibits were small and very old. This zoo needs an upgrade.

Theyre trying to take some good precautions, it could be a little more organized which would keep people further away from each other but also would probably cause less people to visit and actually walk the zoo which is less money for them but overall great experience. We have always enjoyed going throughout the years and Im glad they do what they can to keep people safe while they are open.

Personally I love our zoo, and my kids enjoy it as well. The only gripe I have is in the midst of this pandemic the Houston Zoo couldve done a much better job with crowd control and directions as many areas or exhibit entrances were closed off but it gave no direction as to where the entrance was moved to. I know there is a learning curve involved with what we all are experiencing and hopefully in the coming months there will be improvements. Especially on the waiting times for indoor exhibits.

Houston Zoo! It’s just amazing. Every worker there ask if you would like your picture taken just to remember the good memories you’ve made. Animals there look like they are living their best lives just relaxing. You can enter the zoo with a mobile ticket that’s really affordable witch in turn makes me want to go to the zoo every day. It’s also the best place for kids that will make them happy and curious. So go to the Houston Zoo if you need an activity to do go look at the animals and enjoy the view!

Busy on the weekend, hard to park in their lot. We parked at the museum of natural science and cut thru the park. Prices are high so look out to see if you qualify for the discounts (Lone Star, Student, Senior). They also have free Sundays every month but you have to reserve online 24 hours beforehand. You can bring a cooler in (no glass, alcohol) which saves on water, snacks. Must wear masks the entire time right now. Sanitizing stations around the zoo. Stayed away from the enclosed places because some arent monitored and got crowed. Otherwise fun time!

What a great zoo! It was very clean and staff were friendly and animals seemed happy and well cared for. Theyre doing a good job with adhering to social distancing guidelines although we felt it was somewhat pointless that masks are required for adults but not children..? Petting zoo was closed when we went during the week, which we would recommend so that its not too crowded. Carousel was also available for children which our daughter enjoyed ps. there is a 15 min wait in between rides for cleaning. Overall it was a great experience! Most of the animals were out and our had a blast!

Last Year Christmas, we were fortunate enough to experience the light show at the Houston Zoo. Let’s just say my mind was blown by the meticulous detail in all their displays. What really blew my socks off though, was how they had set everything up to protect the animals from the flashing lights and displays. I was thoroughly impressed with the way they went about protecting the animals by covering up animal display areas etc. this is really worth the effort visiting, even better if you can do it over Christmas time!

Make sure you stop by the new pantanal area. We almost missed it. The otters were amazing!! Also if you have a chance and a little one with you, make sure you feed the giraffes. The kids are amazed and I promise if you have never been that close to that big of an animal you will be in awe as well.

I love taking my child to the Houston zoo. The staff is actually pretty good at asking patrons to wear their mask over their nose if they catch them not wearing their mask

My grandson had a great time, but hand sanitation stations didnt work and they were serving fountain drinks with no lids or straws.

Loved loved the Zoo. I really loved how they have improved the Elephant enclosure from many years ago. I was very sad to see that there were no Africian Eleohants at this time.

My family and I had a great time. There was plenty of room for social distancing, and hand sanitizer everywhere. All of the inside animal exhibits had lines, they all went wast. Even for being there on a Saturday, and also being Halloween. It was nice to see all the different costumes. Zoo boo allot of the animals partying.

I am so impressed with how much has been done to this Zoo. Great job Houston!! Everything looks Beautiful and its obvious the hard work that has and is being put in place to make the animals as content as they can try to be.

The place pretends to be set up for covid, but is highly lacking. Although there are signs saying to stay 6 apart, nobody did. More than half the people had taken off their masks, and I did not see any employees cleaning or disinfecting. VERY disappointed.The new area they set up looked nice and is well done, but I wont be going back until covid is done with.

Love the Zoo, but $27.00 per adult is a bit much and food prices are Outrageous!

We did the zoo lights. It was nice. Being told to wear a mask outside over and over was ridiculous. We will come back during the day to see the animals and hopefully this mask scam will be over.

I havent been here in about 15 years and it was really cool how they have opened up the place...what a great experience with the animals!!

Love to visit Houston museum. An amazing afternoon I want to come back soon!

Loved this place. Due to covid some of the exhibits were closed but we still got to see alot of amazing animals. If you are worried about covid you should be but here mostly everyone had a mask on except for when they were drinking or eating. My only thing was some people wasnt respecting the six foot social distancing but for the most part it was a over all good experience to add to our family adventure list.

Enclosures are clean and tidy. Staff are especially informative about the animals. Great place to spend a day at.

My sons first time at the zoo he had a blast.

Its a great place. We thoroughly enjoyed here. All the exhibits are clean and well maintained. Animals are under good care. The staff is very helpful and patient. But plan your day well. Stay hydrated as the temperatures are a bit higher we feel exhausted. Giraffes and elephants are my favourite. Gorillas & chimpanzees are very active. Zoo management is taking good safety measures for covid 19 as well. See the lion is sleeping. Aww how cute it is.

Very nice zoo with lots of shade - They ask that masks be worn and that you social distance. Most people complied.

Houston zoo is a horrible experience! Long lines, no maps, very over priced food. Even when you know it’s going to be expensive, they take it to a new level. All exhibits that would normally justify admission prices are closed. No maps anywhere to show you were the animals that you want to see are. All the stands that sell maps are closed. They won’t print the tickets for the carousel so if you have to use your hone every time, so if you want to take pictures of your kids to bad.

My family and I absolutely love this zoo! The care for these animals and the continued growth of the exhibits really shows the animals are put first. Everytime we come it’s an adventure. Only downside is the parking, or lack there of. You’ll drive in circles for about 20-30 minutes before you’ll actually find a spot on the weekends.Wish there was a way to put a parking garage closer to the zoo.

Mask police are all about. But its open and my kids had a great time

We went on a Sunday the weather was perfect. Even though they were sold out and I didn’t plan ahead not thinking it would be sold out. I informed the staff I just drove 2 hours to get here to bring my little boy and he was so excited. They ended up selling me tickets. I couldn’t thank them enough for the amazing staff that worked that day and were so understanding. Thank you

It was ok. They need to a better job of posting a map at major intersections that says you are here and arrows pointing towards other exhibits. That way you can visit only the animals you are interested in. The restaurant food. Is very expensive and greasy. Try feeding people more healthy options. At the price they charge for food it shouldnt be a problem to provide better food. They charge $7 to feed the giraffe and only hand you three leaves of lettuce come on give us 6.

Great zoo but with all the construction & rules for Covid it gets confusing. We got there a little early & the girl at the gate was very rude. Other than that we had a nice time.

Beautiful and well-kept zoo! So big that we can only explore half of the zoo. Plenty of areas to seat and chill out. Animals are healthy and looked happy. Well worth the family membership, IMO, especially when you have kids. Well be back soon! :)

Even with COVID the place is well organized and super fun fof the kids.

Had a great day. People were very compliant with wearing masks but not so much keeping 6 feet apart when viewing animals. We had a reservation but still had difficulty finding a place to park as it was quite crowded. Ate at a great restaurant. Food reasonable and delicious. The zoo is very clean.

Excellent Zoo with good amount of shade. Was very clean and well maintained. Compared to the Houston Aquarium the value of a trip to the Zoo was leaps and bounds better. We paid the same amount for both but the Zoo was a much better choice. They did a great job of ensuring people wore masks during this COVID time.

All tickets sold online. Admission for the Christmas lights is a separate ticket. The zoo is looking good with all the updates and renovations.

The best zoo in Texas hands down and really becoming one of the best in the U.S. Theyve done so many improvements over the last three to four years that have really made it a beautiful place for the animals and visitors alike. Im super excited for the new expansions coming in 2022. This is a must visit for anyone passing through Houston.

The light at Houston Zoo was fantastic....total eye candy.....Added bonus we got to see a Rhinoceros grazing under a full Moon

A very exciting and captivating place. I have seen so many animals from biggest to the smallest insects all covered and aptly represented in the zoo. The animals habitats are so closely imitated to what they are in the wilds, that really adds to the excitement of viewers.

Somethings are still not open.. It was fun though with my son

Fantatic zoo, clean and professional. Animals seamed to be well taken care of. They have it all pathed due to covid but you can see all the animals and they are doing thr encounters again as well. You have to wait to get into the exhibits if there are to many people in. Also they didnt say this on their website but you must buy your tickets ahead of time, and reserve your date and tome of entry

Its a pretty nice zoo. The new South American exihibit is pretty cool. It was a lot different this time withb Covid than it was when we went last year but we still had a nice time.

Bigger than I thought.People working at the cafeteria are so unfriendly! Paying big bucks for mediocre food. They should at least provide friendly service!

Beautiful . It took about an hour to walk threw. Merry Christmas

I love this zoo so much, Ive been to many around the country and a couple more in other countries and this is still my favorite. The staff is super friendly and they are knowledgeable of the animals they keep. Just like any other amusement park/zoo the food can be pricey so would recommend bringing some of your own snacks and drinks but there is alcohol around for the grownups and the food in either of the cafes is really good. In the summer time the animals are really just laying around as it is hot and humid so they dont come out much but none the less they have a very good variety of animals from around the world and I still love coming here for a nice walk and the atmosphere. (side note: during this covid situation some of the attractions are closed, Id say about half of them, so if you dont want to pay to see half the zoo then maybe wait til they open up fully).

Not the worst zoo Ive been to, but not the best either. Their zoo lights event is spectacular and puts them over average however!

I’ve always loved the zoo and have been a member for years. The exhibits are fantastic and the animals are happy and well cared for. However, their handling of Covid protocols have not been up to my expectations. At all. They say they are restricting entry tickets, but the zoo was more crowded than I have ever seen when we went last week. Clearly whatever number of tickets they picked to sell was way too many. There was not space to social distance even if you wanted to. Masks are required at entry but mask wearing was not enforced. I’d say 20% of visitors were not in masks and none of the workers were asking them to respect the rule. Look, I’m not an overly paranoid person, but I do expect either mask wearing or social distancing—the zoo provided neither. Renewing my membership might be something I rethink.

A great place for a family day out. Great variety of animals and birds. The animals are very easy to see. Good amenities as well. Prefer this over the Dallas zoo.

The zoo was great! Fun to see all of the animals. It was clean as well.However, parking is an absolute nightmare at least on the weekends. I would recommend getting an Uber unless you want to aggressively fight for a parking spot.

Excellent experience when it was raining, easy social distancing and awesome exhibits. Saw some baby elephants looking for attention

Its fun having a great time

We went on a beautiful day where it was cool enough that the lions, tigers, and other cats were out, which was awesome. But the viewing areas closed (because you might stand too close to each other) and the insistence on wearing masks 100% of the time out doors were just too tiring to stay more than a few hours. Always go to the zoo early. Parking is easier, and the animals happier. Now if we could calm down the administrators...

My kids and I had such an amazing time at the zoo, it is an amazing place to spend time outdoors, you can bring your snacks and water bottles. I love it

Love the Houston Zoo! I havent been in a year and missed it. The new Pantanal area is cool!

We move from Illinois 3 months ago and our first experience visiting the Zoo was amazing!!!

The lights were nice. We felt safe.

First of all, $27 per adult to get in is a bit much. Seems like every time we there are more areas closed off, and fewer animals to see.If you are concerned with social distancing, dont come here because it isnt happening. They seem to be disinfecting pretty well.I love the zoo, but just seems like they could do more....

Light show at night was really good. Great to see something different

The kids love the zoo, they have lights up around the whole property for Christmas also.

Everyone was very polite. We wish they would have had more open than they did but with the virus I know they had to take certain precautions. Our group of 12 had a blast though!!

Love the zoo. Always something to see!

Great place to take family and spend weekend there. But they need to do a better job in keeping people walking around off without masks. Other than that they can get a 5 stars rating when the pandemic is gone!

Great zoo. Small crowds. Helpful staff. Active animals